Call for Papers: Transnational Political Networks and the Future of Global Order

This project, led by Mai’a K. Davis Cross, investigates why certain transnational political networks achieve (or fall short of) breakthroughs in international cooperation that were previously thought impossible.

Call for Papers

Deadline for proposals has passed.

Transnational political networks – groups of individuals who transcend national boundaries – are major forces shaping global order, even despite great power competition. They have championed groundbreaking ideas for international cooperation across a wide range of issue areas, such as climate change, nuclear weapons, outer space, and artificial intelligence. This project aims to break new ground in the investigation of transnational political networks (at both the societal and elite levels) through its focus on the types of networks that matter and how they gain influence.

We invite paper proposals for a workshop on transnational political networks to be held at the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, Northeastern University, Boston, MA on April 9-10, 2025 (hotel and transportation will be covered). The starting point for this workshop is that groundbreaking ideas are more likely to succeed when they have transformative potential, optimism, and the capacity to harness “ultrasociality” – the human inclination to be empathic, cooperative, and socially-oriented (Cross 2024). Thus, this project investigates case studies of transnational political networks that are (1) ultrasocial in worldview, (2) global or at least regional in scale, and (3) transformational, rather than transactional, in their ideas for international cooperation.

This call for papers is open in terms of issue area under investigation and region(s) of the world. Priority will be given to under-investigated case studies that have the potential to shed new light on pathways to breakthroughs in international cooperation, particularly those that have a bearing on the future of global order.

Proposals should be around 500 words and include a short bio (total length no longer than 1 page). Each proposal should clearly indicate: (1) the name of the specific transnational political network under investigation (societal or elite-level), (2) the transformational idea championed by the network, and (3) evidence of the transnational political network’s impact on outcomes in international relations. A theoretical framework of analysis will be developed by Mai’a Cross and the goal is to publish a selection of 8-10 scholarly papers in a special journal issue.

There will be a second workshop and limited funding for field research travel is possible for some selected papers (information to follow for selected authors). Please send proposals to Diana Atoui, Administrative Coordinator of the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures: d.atoui@northeastern.edu by November 11, 2024.

Any questions can be directed to Mai’a K. Davis Cross: m.cross@northeastern.edu.

Support for this project is provided by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic foundation created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to do “real and permanent good in this world.”